Brazil’s Tombini proposes new post to improve transparency

Adriana Brasileiro and Andre Soliani – Bloomberg, 05/31/2012

Brazil’s central bank created a post on its board to improve transparency and communications two weeks after President Alexandre Tombini said it’s increasingly important for central banks to provide “forward guidance” to the market.

Tombini recommended that President Dilma Rousseff approve Luiz Edson Feltrim, currently executive-secretary, as the institution’s special affairs director, according to an e-mailed statement from the central bank yesterday. In a speech on May 10 in Rio de Janeiro, Tombini said transparency is key for the central bank given the “exceptionally complex moment for the global economy.”

“There is an ongoing trend in the world for more transparency at central banks,” Roberto Padovani, chief economist at Votorantim Ctvm Ltda, said in a phone interview yesterday. “Communication is becoming an important tool for monetary policy.”